Von Saigon aus haben wir uns auf eine (der Einfachheit halber gefuehrte) Tour ins Mekongdelta begeben. Der Mekong ist die Lebensader dieser Region, er ist gleichzeitig Transportweg, Badezimmer, Kueche und Abfalleimer fuer die Uferbewohner. Mit Bus, Motorboot und Ruderboot erkundeten wir die kleinen Inseln im Mekong, jede spezialisiert auf die Herstellung eines bestimmten Produkts wie Honigwein, Kokosnusbonbons oder Reisnudeln. Obwohl wir die einige kleine Uebel einer Package Tour ertragen mussten (inkl. vietnamesischer Folkoremusik, Anweisungen, auf welchen Stuehlen gesessen werden darf und fremde Gondolieres, die im Vorbeifahren Trinkgeld verlangten), bekamen wir viele Einblicke in das Leben in der Region. Das Highlight unseres Ausflugs war neben der Bekanntschaft mit zwei liebenswerten deutschen Huenen (siehe Foto) der Besuch des schwimmenden Marktes in Can Toh. Jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr bieten Haendler den Kunden auf Booten auf dem Mekong ihre Waren feil. Meistens spezialsiert sich ein Haendler auf ein gewisses Produkt wie Ananas oder Kuerbisse. Man kann einen Gondoliere anheuern, der einem von "Stand zu Stand" rudert. Ausserdem machten wir noch Halt in einer Reisfabrik, in der die Leute nur von 5 bis 10 Uhr morgens arbeiten, da der Strom zur Bedienung der Muehlen ansonsten zu teuer sei.
From Saigon we went on a (guided) tour to the Mekong Delta. The mighty Mekong is the lifeblood of this region, the river is transport hub, bathroom, kitchen and trashbin all in one for the people living on its shore. With bus, motorboat and rowingboat we visited the small islands in the river, each of which specialised in the production of a speciality like honey wine, coconut candy or rice noodles. Altough we had to endure some of the evils of a package tour like Vietnamese folkore music, instructions on where to sit and gondoliers that asked for money while passing us) we had some good insights in the life in the region. The highlight of our trip apart from meeting two friendly German giants was the floating market of Can Toh. Each morning from 5 vendours offer their products on their wooden boats on the Mekong. Most of them specialise in one product like pineapple or pumpkin. You can also hire a gondolier to row you from stall to stall. After that we also stopped in a rice factory that only runs from 5 to 10 each morning, because the coasts for electricity is to high the rest of the day, so we were told.
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From Saigon we went on a (guided) tour to the Mekong Delta. The mighty Mekong is the lifeblood of this region, the river is transport hub, bathroom, kitchen and trashbin all in one for the people living on its shore. With bus, motorboat and rowingboat we visited the small islands in the river, each of which specialised in the production of a speciality like honey wine, coconut candy or rice noodles. Altough we had to endure some of the evils of a package tour like Vietnamese folkore music, instructions on where to sit and gondoliers that asked for money while passing us) we had some good insights in the life in the region. The highlight of our trip apart from meeting two friendly German giants was the floating market of Can Toh. Each morning from 5 vendours offer their products on their wooden boats on the Mekong. Most of them specialise in one product like pineapple or pumpkin. You can also hire a gondolier to row you from stall to stall. After that we also stopped in a rice factory that only runs from 5 to 10 each morning, because the coasts for electricity is to high the rest of the day, so we were told.
